State Water Board details how to file change-of-ownership and add agents in Cal Waters

A State Water Board staff member demonstrated how to use Cal Waters’ online services to file a change of ownership or add an agent, and clarified how primary-owner designations, mail and bill receivers, and notification behavior work in the new system.

The presenter said users should navigate Online Services → Water Right Request → 'Change of ownership or agent' to start the form, and choose whether they are the new primary owner or are adding themselves as an agent. "You can add yourself as agent without actually changing the ownership," the presenter said while walking through the form fields.

Nut graf: Because ownership and contact designations determine who receives official hard-copy correspondence and who staff contacts about enforcement and billing, the presenter emphasized filing the correct relationship type rather than using another person’s mailed PIN to shortcut ownership changes.

Key points covered: - Form navigation and field behavior: The form allows searching by water-right ID or owner name to select specific rights or quickly select all rights for an owner. If a change is pending for a right, the system may block concurrent edits. - Primary vs nonprimary owner: The presenter explained primary owner is a contact label used by staff for correspondence, not a superiority of title; co-owners remain equal unless ownership records are changed via the form. - Mail and bill receivers: Hard-copy mail and official bills must be sent to a single designated receiver; the presenter advised marking mail/bill receiver fields carefully. However, because the new system now captures emails for owners and agents, email notifications about events like reporting openings are likely to go to both owners and agents. - Agent requests prioritized: The presenter stated staff are prioritizing agent/ownership requests to reduce barriers to annual reporting and encouraged consultants with multiple clients to attend the afternoon agent-focused session. - Support contact: For UI problems or account-specific issues the presenter provided a staff contact email: jeff.parks@waterboards.ca.gov.

The webinar closed with a recommendation to consult the Cal Waters resources page and to submit help requests when staff intervention is needed. The presenter also encouraged attendees to attend a follow-up session dedicated to agent workflows.